Elton John (album)
| Recorded = January 1970 | Studio = Trident Studios (London, England) | Genre = | Length = | Label = DJM (UK) Uni (US) | Producer = Gus Dudgeon | Last album = Empty Sky (1969) | This album = Elton John (1970) | Next album = Tumbleweed Connection (1970) | Misc = }} Stephen Thomas Erlewine "Elton John". Allmusic. |rev2 = Robert Christgau |rev2score = (B) |rev3 = Rolling Stone |rev3score = (not rated)http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/eltonjohn/albums/album/121562/review/5942220/elton_john }} Elton John is the second album by English singer-songwriter Elton John, released in April 1970. However, because it was his first album released in America, many people there assumed it was his first album, as Empty Sky was not released in the US until 1975. Elton John includes his breakthrough hit, "Your Song", and helped to establish his career during what was considered the "singer-songwriter" era of popular music. In the US, it was certified gold in February 1971 by the RIAA. In the same year, it was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. This was the first of a string of Elton John albums produced by Gus Dudgeon. As Dudgeon recalled in a Mix Magazine interview, the album wasn't actually intended to launch John as an artist, but rather as a collection of polished demos for other artists to consider recording his and co-writer Bernie Taupin's songs.http://www.mixonline.com/news/profiles/gus-dudgeon-1942-2002/364951 In 2003, the album was ranked No. 468 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. On 27 November 2012, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame as an album cited as exhibiting "qualitative or historical significance"."Grammy Hall of Fame Award. Grammy.org. Retrieved 21 December 2012 The song "No Shoe Strings on Louise" was intended (as homage or parody) to sound like a Mick Jagger song. Track listing All songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Bonus tracks (1995 Mercury and 1996 Rocket reissue) Bonus tracks (2008 deluxe edition) Disc one – original album Disc two #"Your Song" (Piano demo) – 3:35 #"I Need You to Turn To" (Piano demo) – 2:12 #"Take Me to the Pilot" (Piano demo) – 2:36 #"No Shoe Strings on Louise" (Piano demo) – 3:33 #"Sixty Years On" (Piano demo) – 4:21 #"The Greatest Discovery" (Piano demo) – 3:58 #"The Cage" (Piano demo) – 3:21 #"The King Must Die" (Piano demo) – 5:24 #"Rock and Roll Madonna" (Piano demo) – 3:11 #"Thank You Mama" (Piano demo) – 3:20 #"All the Way Down to El Paso" (Piano demo) – 2:49 #"I'm Going Home" (Piano demo) – 3:05 #"Grey Seal" (Piano demo) – 3:19 #"Rock And Roll Madonna" (Alternate take) – 2:55 #"Bad Side of the Moon" – 3:13 #"Grey Seal" (Original version) – 3:36 #"Rock and Roll Madonna" – 4:17 #"Border Song" (BBC session) – 3:21 #"Your Song" (BBC session) – 4:01 #"Take Me to the Pilot" (BBC session) – 3:33 Notes *On the album released in Portugal, a French horn is used in the introduction to "The Greatest Discovery" instead of a cello as is found on all other versions. An extended version of the introduction to "Sixty Years On" is available on the 1990 box set To Be Continued. *The original German release from 1970 (Hansa 80807) opens with the song "Rock and Roll Madonna", and the song "I Need You to Turn To" does not appear on the LP. The rest of the tracks and the running order remain the same as the worldwide release. *The album was remastered as a multichannel Super Audio CD in 2004. B-sides Personnel * Elton John – piano and vocals (all tracks), harpsichord (2) *Frank Clark – acoustic bass (track 10), acoustic guitar (1) *Colin Green – additional guitars (track 1, 7), Spanish guitar (6) *Roland Harker – guitar (2) *Clive Hicks – acoustic guitar (9), rhythm guitar (4), twelve-string guitar (1), guitars (7, 8, 10) * Alan Parker – rhythm guitar (3) * Caleb Quaye – lead guitar (tracks 3–5), additional guitars (9) *Les Hurdle – bass guitar (10) *Dave Richmond – bass guitar (tracks 1, 7, 8) *Alan Weighall – bass guitar (tracks 3, 4, 9) * Brian Dee – organ (tracks 6, 7) *Diana Lewis – Moog synthesizer (tracks 5, 9) * Paul Buckmaster – cello solo (8) * Skaila Kanga – harp (tracks 2, 8) *David Katz – violin * Terry Cox – drums (tracks 8, 10) *Dennis Lopez – percussion (tracks 3, 4) * Barry Morgan – drums (tracks 1, 3, 4, 7, 9) *Tex Navarra – percussion (9) * Madeline Bell – backing vocals (tracks 3, 4, 7, 9) * Tony Burrows – backing vocals (tracks 3, 4, 7, 9) * Roger Cook – backing vocals (tracks 3, 4, 7, 9) * Lesley Duncan – backing vocals (tracks 3, 4, 7, 9) *Kay Garner – backing vocals (tracks 3, 4, 7, 9) * Tony Hazzard – backing vocals (tracks 3, 4, 7, 9) *Barbara Moore – backing vocals, choir leader (7) ;Technical * Gus Dudgeon – producer, liner notes * Robin Geoffrey Cable – engineer * Gus Skinas – editing * Darrell Johnson – original mastering * Tony Cousins – remastering * Ricky Graham – digital transfers * Greg Penny – surround sound * Paul Buckmaster – arrangements * David Katz – orchestra contractor * Steve Brown – production coordinator * David Larkham – art direction * Stowell Stanford – photography * Jim Goff – artwork * John Tobler – liner notes Accolades Grammy Awards |- | style="width:35px; text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1971 || rowspan="2"| Elton John || Album of the Year || |- | Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male || |- Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts Certifications } References Category:Elton John albums Category:1970 albums Category:Albums produced by Gus Dudgeon Category:Albums recorded at Trident Studios Category:Universal Deluxe Editions Category:English-language albums Category:DJM Records albums Category:Uni Records albums Category:Albums arranged by Paul Buckmaster